Daily Archives: August 24, 2017

LOS ANGELES — Can hate be healed? The question has been central to Tim Zaal’s life.

When Zaal was 17, he and his friends went looking for a night-time brawl in West Hollywood. Near a crowded hangout called Oki Dogs on Santa Monica Boulevard, they spotted a group of young people and yelled, “Let’s go kill the faggots!” They chased one gay, homeless boy, 14, into an alley and beat him. As he lay on the ground, Zaal kicked him in the forehead with a razor-studded boot, knocking him unconscious.